Remember that old tractor laying about under the trees 5 years ago? Bet you forgot; not me. It’s a 1961 Model L Gravely; a collector’s item so I can’t let any more rust ruin this ‘Terraplane of Tractors.’

Yikes! The head had been removed and water in the cylinder isn’t good. The rims have rusted through exposing the inner tubes! And parts are missing… This was a mess….

First step is to strip off the body and degrease everything, then de-rust it with “Ospho.” I hooked up temporary gas tank and she started on the second pull. OK, I thought, it’s time to order some real parts….

Well, here she is today. Everything was renewed and in case you think this is a spray can job, here’s a look under the hood:

Thanks to the internet, I found all the parts online and an expert who used to be a factory rep for this Model L built in 1961 by the Studebaker factory. This beast starts on the second pull, too! Here’s the first…..

It usually starts on the first pull, really! Here I’m off and running hauling wood:

It’s off to the garden! Wait a minute….this looks like work!

Then it’s a coat of paint for the outhouse…..or is it an outhouse? No, it’s a pilothouse using the old doors/windows from the Katahdin that doubles as an outhouse….

Then nailing down the last of the roof on the gazebo–I used up every last shake and finished with about a dozen shingles….we’re getting this place in shape!

OK….what do the kids in this town do for fun? 1.) they sit at the east end of the airport and watch the jets land right over their heads….and 2.) They crawl up in this old fishing net strung in a group of trees, and drink beer…. Now why didn’t I think of this?

Stay tuned.

This entry was posted
on Wednesday, September 15th, 2010 at 10:14 am and is filed under Alaska.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Gravely Tractors”

We’ve been lucky this summer and Anchorage up north has been cold and cloudy all summer. But we’re making up for three rainy years in which it rained practically every day. The winter of 06/07 we measured 23 feet of snow over the whole winter season with 5 feet on the ground at one time! We’re enjoying every minute of this.